Campath, Calcineurin inhibitor reduction and Chronic allograft nephropathy
The 3C Newsletter
Summer 2013
Welcome the third edition of the 3C NEWSLETTER. It is now quite a while since some of you joined the trial.
We appreciate your continued interest which is important for us to answer two important questions in kidney
transplantation.
Milestones reached
Thanks to all your help and support the teams at the
transplant centres had recruited sufficient participants for
us to be able to stop recruitment on 21st January 2013.
By that time, 852 participants had been randomised to the
study. This is a major achievement: 3C is now the largest
trial in kidney transplantation done in the UK and one of the
largest ever trials of immunosuppression in the world.
always been determined not to let his kidney problems get
in the way of his life and has enjoyed the extra freedom that
having a transplant offers. When asked why he took part in
the 3C Study, Fred said, “I wanted to help find out what the
best treatments are for people having kidney transplants.
Taking part in the study hasn’t caused me any difficulty
and I hope the results will help improve the care future
transplant patients receive.”
In August second randomisation was completed and 394
of you have been 2nd randomised. This means that 3C is
not only the largest trial of Campath, but is also the largest
trial testing an early conversion to sirolimus. Size really does
matter when it comes to trials: the bigger the trial, the more
reliable the answers so thank you!
It is very exciting to have most of the transplant centres in
the UK working together with you. With your help we hope
to achieve the best outcomes for transplant recipients in the
future. We hope that this group of transplant centres and
doctors will be able to do more trials together in the future.
Who are we?
One of the Co-Principal
investigators on the 3C Study is
Professor Colin Baigent who is
based at CTSU. He first studied
mathematics at the University
of Oxford, and then qualified in
medicine. Professor Baigent is in
a unique position to understand
kidney diseases and promote its
research: not only is he medically
qualified, but he has also received a kidney transplant
himself and so understands many of the issues and
challenges that 3C participants face.
3C’s first participant
Fred Long was the first patient to enter the 3C Study. Before
having his transplant, he was on peritoneal dialysis. In fact,
the picture was taken while Fred was still on PD! Fred has
Fred now has plans to abseil down the John Radcliffe
Hospital again to raise money for another good cause. We
wish Fred all the best for this!
Annual update from you
Thank you to all of you who completed last year’s (2012)
annual questionnaire. We sent this to all participants
who had completed their 12 month visit by the end of
September 2012 (i.e. participants who had their transplants
before 30th September 2011).
It’s really helpful for us to hear how you have been getting
on in the longer term since your transplant and so we’d
like you complete the short questionnaire and return it to
us once a year. We really
appreciate your time and
effort in completing the
questionnaire (although we
hope that this is only a few
www.3cstudy.org
The 3C Newsletter
Summer 2013
minutes). One participant has moved to Australia and
even returned her completed questionnaire from there.
Thank you!
On the move?
We had a few questions about the questionnaire.
Some of our participants have
moved to other parts of the
country and are no longer seen
at the transplant centre where
they were recruited. Since
the majority of UK transplant
centres are participating in the
study the teams have been
able to help each other out in
making sure that you have your
3C follow-ups. A patient who moved to Newcastle after
being recruited in Manchester was able to continue follow
up in the study by the team in Manchester because both
transplant centres are collaborating in the study. The team
at the new centre was able to supply results needed for
2nd randomisation and to continue the participant’s care
according to their 3C participation.
Q: What do we mean by “since your last study visit or
questionnaire?”
A: You have 3C follow-ups up to 12 months after your
transplant. These are carried out by the teams at your
transplant centre talking to you and completing an online
form. After that, once a year in October we send you the
questionnaire for you to complete. If you completed your
12 month visit recently, we will still ask you to fill in the
questionnaire.
Q: What if I am not sure whether I gave you details of
clinical events on the last questionnaire?
A: The events are dated and we would prefer that you make
sure that you tell us about all events rather than thinking
that you may have told us before. So, it does not matter if
an event has already been reported at a follow-up visit or
on a previous questionnaire. Please tell us twice rather than
not at all!
What next in 3C?
We are collecting details of any problems and with the
highly skilled help of our IT team and medical statisticians
this information will help us to find out whether one kind
of treatment is better for the long-term functioning of your
new kidney than another kind. This is why it’s important
that we know whether or not you’ve had any problems
since your transplant. We hope to be able to present the
first results of the 3C Study at a major transplant conference
in America next year. We will let you know what they show.
It’s a great help if you can let us know if you’ve moved
house so that we know where to send your next
questionnaire.
The study coordinating centre can be contacted:
• by telephone: 24 hour Freefone service
0800 585323; or Weekday office hours Ruth Davis 01865 743528
• by post: Ruth Davis, Administrator, 3C Study, CTSU,
Richard Doll Building, Old Road Campus,
Roosevelt Drive, Oxford, OX3 7LF; or
• by e-mail: [email protected]
• www.3cstudy.org
And remember that you can contact your local
team, too.
Thank you very much for your participation in the 3C Study. We hope that trials like this
one can improve the long-term outcomes for recipients of renal transplants for many years to come,
so thank you for agreeing to take part.
www.3cstudy.org